Mailchimp Latest Company to Ban Cryptocurrency Advertising

Popular email automation company, Mailchimp, has become the latest company to ban promotional materials pertaining to initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies. The ban is formally acknowledged in the company’s new terms of service, which was updated on March 29.

Mailchimp Prohibits Emails Promoting Cryptocurrencies

Leading email automation services provider, Mailchimp, recently updated its terms of service – revealing that the company has chosen to crack down on the promotion of initial coin offerings and virtual currencies through its services.

Cryptocurrencies are now addressed at the bottom of the “Prohibited Content” section of Mailchimp’s acceptable use policy. The policy states that the company will not “allow businesses involved in any aspect of the sale, transaction, exchange, storage, marketing or production of cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, and any digital assets related to an Initial Coin Offering, to use MailChimp to facilitate or support any of those activities.”

New Policy to be Enforced From April 30th

Reports have cited an email sent to a Mailchimp customer requesting further information regarding the company’s decision to prohibit the promotion of cryptocurrencies.

Said email claims that virtual currencies are “too frequently associated with scams, fraud, phishing, and potentially misleading business practices,” adding that Mailchimp “made th[e] decision to update our Acceptable Use Policy in order to protect the millions of businesses that use MailChimp for their marketing.”

The email also indicates that the new policy will not into effect until April 30th.

Number of Major Internet Companies Initiating Crypto Advertising Crackdowns Continues to Grow

2018 has seen a sudden proliferation in the number of major internet companies seeking to reign-in the use of their platforms for the purposes of advertising initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies.

On the 30th of January, Facebook announced a new advertising policy that saw the prohibiting of “ads that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency.”

On Tuesday, March 27, Twitter updated its Restricted Content Policies with regard to the promotion of financial services and related content – which now outlines provisions regarding “cryptocurrency ICOs” and “Cryptocurrency token sales.” According to news.Bitcoin.com’s coverage of the matter, “any advertisement for financial products and services must be compatible with all applicable laws in each country, provide necessary disclosures, balanced information of risks and benefits, and all information that must be provided to the investor. Moreover, the network will now only allow ads by cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet services that are publicly-listed companies on major stock markets.”

Earlier this month, Google announced upcoming changes to its policies regarding the advertising of financial products in June. The new policy will see ads “initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice” blocked from being served to viewers. Despite the estimation that the new policy will come into effect in June, anecdotal evidence suggests that Google may already be making efforts to prevent crypto ads from being served.